1. Field of the Invention
The present invention related to a device for inserting a film or sheet of bioabsorbable material into the abdominal cavity of a patient during laparoscopic surgery.
2. Prior Art
Laparoscopic surgery involves the transcutaneous placement of at least one, and usually two, three or four laparoscopic cannulas through the abdominal wall to provide a conduit into the abdomen. The cannula(s) are inserted by means of a trocar placed against the skin which, in response to pressure, provides a open pathway into abdominal cavity through which the cannula(s) may pass. One of such cannulas is employed to inflate the abdominal cavity with carbon dioxide gas to improve the field of view and accessibility to organs within the abdomen. Others are used for the insertion of specialized surgical instruments. All such cannulas are fitted with a leak-proof valve to prevent gas under pressure from leaking from within the abdominal cavity. Instruments used in laparoscopic surgery are passed through the cannulas and manipulated within the abdominal cavity. One of the cannulas houses a camera which, together with a light source, provides a means for a physician or surgeon to view the field of operation and perform a surgical procedure within the abdominal cavity.
It has been difficult in the art to insert sheets of flexible material through such cannulas for deployment within the abdominal cavity. Films or sheets of material which are particularly desirable for such insertion include adhesion barriers, bioabsorbable and biodegradable drug releasing films and the like.
The prior art has dealt with the problem of inserting sheets of material through a cannula into the abdomen in a variety of ways, some of which are set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,623 by Tilton, Jr. In particular, the Tilton Jr. patent ('623) discloses a laparoscopic device which is operable through a cannula and which employs a set of jaws to grasp a sheet, wind said sheet around said jaws, retract said jaws and sheet into a sheath, and inserting the sheath through the cannula into the abdomen then advancing the jaws and sheet through the sheath and, when the jaws and sheet are clear of the cannula, releasing the sheet. Such devices are expensive and difficult to clean. It is, therefore, desirable to provide a device which can be used in laparoscopic surgery to insert and deploy a sheet or film of flexible material into an abdominal cavity which obviates some or all of the problems associated with prior art devices.